Disinfecting apparatus



1,646,774 1927' M. TROOTNEFF ET AL DISINFECTING APPARATUS Filed June 22, 1925 s Sheets-Sheet 1 Z217.

164 7 4 Oct. 25, 1927,, M. TROOTNEFF ET AL 9 6, 7

DISINFECTING APPARATUS Filed June 22, 1925 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 A I 'h. 4 j

Oct. 25, 1927,

M. TROOTNEFF ET AL DI S INFECTING APPARATUS Filed June 22, 1925 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 llillllnu mun mmlil Patented Oct. 25, 1927.

UNITED STATES 1,645,774 PATENT. OFFICE.

MICHAEL TROO'I'NEFF AND JOHN GROMEEKO, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

DISINFEGTING APPARATUS.

Application filed June 22, 1925. Serial No. 38,800.

Our invention relates to improvement in disinfecting apparatus wherein a disinfecting agent is sprayed directly upon a heated plate and vaporized to form a vapor adapted to permeate and disinfect large quantities of clothing and other articles in a dry condition without the use of steam.

In disinfecting large quantities of cloth ing and the like, a common practice heretofore has been to hang the garments or arti-' cles to be disinfected in a closed room and to introduce a disinfecting agent by means of steam. Such practice makes it necessary that the garments be hung loosely'as otherwise the materials become weighted down with moisture and the free circulation of the disinfectant through the garments is so impaired as to prevent an efiicient and complete disinfecting thereof. Furthermore the garments absorb so much moisture that they must be removed and dried before they can be again used or packed away. Such steam process cannot be used at all for disinfecting garments or the like made of fur as the moisture ruins the skins.

Our invention is therefore designed to avoid these objections and to afiord a means for efiiciently disinfecting materials of all kinds, the primary object of our invention beingflto provide an improved apparatus which will facilitate the disinfecting of large quantities of clothing in a dry condition.

Another object is to provide a device in which the articles to be disinfected may be packed compactly during the disinfecting process, and which will permit the articles to be used or packed without need for subsequent drying.

A further object is to provide an im-,

proved apparatus which will facilitate the vaporization of a disinfecting agent and which will facilitate the permeation of the vapor through articles to be disinfected.

Another object is to provide an improved I apparatus having means for protecting articles from injury during the disinfecting thereof.

A still further object is to provide an apparatus of simple and improved construction which may be economically manufactured and installed and which may be readily transported and installed within any available compartment where required.

lVe accomplish these and other objects by means of the device disclosed in the drawings forming a part of the present specification wherein like characters of reference are used to designate similar parts throughout said specification and drawings and in which, L

Fig. 1. is a transversesection throungh the apparatus showing the construction and arrangement thereof.

'Fig. 2 is a broken lan view of the apparatus.

Fig. 3 is a broken front elevation of the apparatus. 1 a

Fig. 4 is a broken sectional detail showing the construction and arrangement of the dlsinfectant vaporizing elements.

Referring to the drawings the numeral 1 is used to designate in general a furnace provided with a fire box 2 and an ash box 3 having doors 4: and 5 respectively. Grate bars 6 are mounted between the fire box and the ash box adjacent the front of the furnace, and a ballie 7 is mounted within the fire box 2 immediately back of the grate bars 6 to deflect heat upwardly against a crown plate 8 mounted across the top of the furnace. The crown plate 8 is provided with corrugations 9 upon its upper surface and ribs 11 upon its under surface for a purpose herelnafter more fully explained.

A chimney 12 is connected into the back of the fire box 2, said chimney ascending gradually in zigzag manner immediately in back of the furnace to form a large heatmg surface, at an elevation nearly the same as the elevation of the crown plate 8.

Racks are mounted above the furnace 1 and the zigzag chimney 12, said racks conslstlng of a plurality of spaced rack bars 13 supported upon suitable transverse supportlng members 14:. The rack bars 14 are arranged at a slight distance above the upper surfaces of the furnace and chimney and are arranged to receive and, support relatively large quantities of garments or other articles, not shown, to be disinfected.

Shields 16 and 17 are mounted between the furnace and chimney and the rack bars 14 to protect the rack pars and articles supported thereon frombeing overheated or burned by the heat from the furnace or chimney. The shields 16 and 17 are preferably made in separate portions substantially covering the top of the upper surfaces of the furnace and chimney respectively, the shield 16 being supported above the furnace by legs 18 secured upon the sides of the furnace and extending upwardly therefrom to the desired elevation.

The shields consist of metallic frames upon which are secured webs of asbestos fabricor 5 other suitable non-inflammable and heat insulating'material having a pluralityof perforations 19 formed therein to permit the free circulation of air and vapor upwardly therethrough as hereinafter .more fully explained. The shield 17 ispreferably supported along its forward edge by means of hooks 21engaging eyes 22 formed in the corners of theframe of-the shield 16 and along its rearward edge by means of wires or other suitable members adapted to hold the shield in substantially horizontal position atthe desired elevation.

'A disinfectant spraying element 23 is mounted immediately above the crown plate 8, saidelement preferably consisting of a pipe extending in horizontal position across the plate Sand having perforations 24 upon the under side thereof. The pipe is held by clamps 26 mounted upon the upper ends of rods 27 extending upwardly from the top of thefurnace. The rearward end of the pipe 23 is closed and theforward end is adapted to be connected to a container 28 from which is supplied a liquid disinfecting agent. The pipe 23 is positioned at a slight elevation above the crown plate 8 and the perforations 24 are so arranged that when the disinfecting agent is dispensed through the pipe it will be projected as a fine spray over substantially the entirejupper surface of the crown plate.

In operation the furnace 1 is installed within a closed compartment with the doors 4 and 5 of said "furnace accessible through an opening 29 in a wall 31 closing the front of the compartment along the front of the furnace. The-zigzag chimney is arranged inback of the'furnace and extended out of the compartment inany convenient manner, One or more sets of rack bars 13" are arranged in spaced relationabove the shields 16 and 17 in-accordance'with they-size and height of "th'ecompartment to receive the articles to be disinfected.

The articles to be disinfected are placed in any convenient manner upon the bars13 and afire built in the furnace. The'fire is dis posed directly under the crown. plate 8 which is quickly heated'to a high degree, the heating of said plate beingfacilitated by the downwardly disposedribs 11 which operate to increase the quantity of heat absorbed and conducted into the body of "the plate;

After'the plate 8 has been heated a liquid disinfecting agent is sprayed from the pipe 23 onto theheated upper surface of a plate 8 whereby said agent- 'is vaporized and I caused @to "diffuse throughout the compartmerit. Thecorrugations 9.increase the area of heated surface upon which the agent heated zigzag chimney. causes an upward movement of air from the heated surfaces wherebynthe.vaporized disinfectant is carried upwardly through the perforations 19 a in the shields-16=and 17 and caused to permeate all articles placed upon the rack bars 13. The upward movement-ofthe heated air thus operates to carry the vaporized' 'd'is infectant directly into thearticles andat the same time maintains arelatively high temperature within the compartment whereby condensation is prevented.

The disinfecting agent may be of any desired *character adapted -to meet the requirements of any particular condition, an aqueous solution of'formaldehydesuch'as is commonly known as formal-in being particularly adapted for most ordinary purposes, but otherdisinfectants may of course be used if desired. Y

The. articles to be disinfected may be stacked in-any convenient'manner upon the rack bars'13,"as the dry air'andvapor circulates freely through and around" such articles and the vapor permeates such articies even though folded and stacked in piles. After remaining in the disinfecting compartment for the: required period of time the articles are-removed, and'being warm and dry may be immediately-placed in use or packed forstorage as tlie'occa'sion may require. This feature is ofparticular-value in connection with the use ofthe apparatus in disinfecting the clothes of soldiers, ourimproved apparatus making" it possible'for soldiers :or others to place-their clothing-in individual sacks in the compartment for disinfecting whereby theclothes of each person may be kept separate from those of other persons and enable each person to readily identify "his own clothes when removed from the disinfecting compartment. "VVhen'removed the clothes may be worn immediately without the-necessity of waiting for them to be dried -asin the heretofore common; practice above referred to.

The several elements oft-he Iapparatus above described are readily moved from place to place and may be-easily installed in any available compartment, thus avoiding the-labor an'dexpe'nse 'ofa permanent installation. While wehave illustrated: and describe dwhat weconsidertobe the pre-' ferred embodiment of the invention, the details of construction and arrangement are of course subject to modification in numerous ways without departing'from the spirit of the invention.

. Having thus described our invention-what we claim :as new anddesire to-secure by Letters Patentis 2' 1. A disinfecting apparatus comprising the combination with-a closed Compartment of a furnace mounted within the compartmerit; a crown plate mounted above the furnace and arranged to be heated thereby; means forsupporting articles to be disinfected above the furnace; and means for dispensing a disinfecting agent onto the crown plate to be vaporized whereby the vapor may permeate and disinfect the articles.

2. A. disinfecting apparatus comprising the combination with a closed compartment of a furnace mounted within the compartment; a crown plate mounted above the furnace and arranged to be heated thereby; means for supporting articles to be disinfected above the furnace; and means for dispensing a disinfecting agentonto the crown plate to be vaporized whereby. the vapor may permeate and disinfect the articles; and a shieldmounted between the furnace and the articles to prevent the burning of said articles.

3. A disinfecting apparatus comprising the combination with closed compartment of a furnace mounted within the compartment; a crown plate mounted above the furnace and arranged to be heated thereby; means for supporting articles to be disinfected above the. furnace; and means for dispensing a disinfecting agent onto the crown plate to be vaporized whereby the vapor may permeate and disinfect the articles; and a shield mounted between the furnace and the articles supported thereover to protect said articles from burning and perforated to permit a free circulation of air and vapor thereto.

t. A disinfecting apparatus comprising the combination with a closed compartment of a furnace mounted within the compartment; a crown plate closing the top of the furnace and arranged to be heated thereby; a zigzag chimney connected into the back of the furnace; racks mounted above the furnace and the chimney for supporting articles to be disinfected; shields mounted between the furnace and the racks to protect articles supported thereon from burning; and means for dispensing a disinfecting agent upon the crown plate to be vaporized whereby the vapor may be carried upwardly by heat from the furnace and chimney to permeate and disinfect the articles.

5. A disinfecting apparatus comprising the combination with a closed compartment of a furnace mounted within the compartment; a crown plate closing the top of the furnace and arranged to be heated thereby; a zigzag chimney connected into the back of the furnace; racks mounted above the furnace and chimney for supporting articles to be disinfected; shields mounted between the furnace and the racks to protect articles supported thereon from burning said shields having perforations formed therein to permit a free circulation of heated air upwardly therethrough; and means for dispensing a disinfecting agent upon the crown plate to be vaporized whereby the vapor may be carried upwardly by the heated air to permeate and disinfect the articles.

6. A disinfecting apparatus comprising the combination with a closed compartment of a furnace mounted within the compartment; a crown plate closing the top of the furnace and arranged to be heated thereby; a chimney connected into the back of the furnace; racks mounted above the furnace and the chimney for supporting articles to be disinfected; a perforated pipe mounted above the furnace for spraying a disinfecting a ent upon the crown plate whereby said agent may be vaporized and the vapor caused to permeate and disinfect the articles.

7. A disinfecting apparatus comprising the combination with a closed compartment of a furnace mounted within the compartmerit; a crown plate closing the top of the furnace and arranged to be heated thereby; a chimney onnected into the back of the furnace; racks mounted above the furnace and the chimney for supporting articles to be disinfected; a perforated pipe mounted above the furnace forspraying a disinfecting agent upon the crown platewhereby said agent may be vaporized and the vapor caused to permeate and disinfect the articles; and perforated shields mounted between the furnace and chimney and the racks to protect the articles from burning.

8. A disinfecting apparatus comprising the combination with a closed compartment of a furnace mounted within the compartment; a crown plate closing the top of the furnace and arranged to be heated thereby, said plate being provided with corrugations upon its upper surface; a perforated pipe mounted above the crown plate for spraying a disinfecting agent upon the corrugated surface thereof whereby said agent may be vaporized; and racks mounted above the furnace to support articles to be disinfected by the vaporized agent.

9. A disinfecting apparatus comprising the combination with a closed compartment of a furnace mounted within the compartment; a. crown plate closing the top of the furnace and arranged to be heated thereby, said plate being provided with corrugations upon its upper surface; a perforated pipe mounted above the crown plate for spraying a disinfecting agent upon the corrugated surface thereof whereby said agent may be vaporized; and racks mounted above the furnace to support articles to be disinfected by the vaporized agent; and a shield mounted between the furnace and the racks to protect the articles from burning.

10. A disinfecting apparatus comprising the combination with a closed compartment Ill) of 'a furnace mounted withinthe compartment a crown plate mounted upon the top of the'furn'acepsaidvplate being providedcrown: plate means for delivering a fdisinfecting agent to said ipipe whereby said agent-maybe sprayed -upon the corrugated surface of the crown plate and thereby vaporized; and means-for" supporting articles to be disinfected above the furnace whereby the vaporized "agent 7 may permeate said articles. v

11. A= disinfecting apparatus comprising the combination-with a closed compartment of'a furnace mounted within'the'compartment; a crow-n plate" mounted upon the top ofthefurnace,-saidiplate being provided with "corri'igations formed upon its upper surface and ribs formed upon its lower surface a perforated pipe mounted above the crown plate; means for delivering a disinfecting agent to said pipe *whereby said agent maybe-sprayed upon the corrugated surface of the crownplateand thereby vaporized; a zigzag chimney connected to the furnace; and racks'mounted above the furnace and the chimney for supporting articles to be disinfected. V

12. A disinfecting i apparatus comprising the combination witha closed compartment of a fu'r nace mounted/within the compartment; a crown plate mounted upon the top of the furnace, "said plate being =1 provided w-ith'corri'igations formed upon its upper surface and ribsformed upon its lower surface; aperforated pipe mountedabove the crown plate; means for delivering a disinfecting i agent "to said pipe whereby "said agent-"may be spray'ed upon the corrugated surface ofthe-crownplate and" thereby vaporized; 'a' zigzag-chimney connected'to the furnace;- and racks-mountedabove the fur;

nace and the chimney for supporting articles to be disinfected i and shields mounted between the furnace and chimney and the racks to protect the articles from burning,

"13.'-A disinfecting apparatus comprising the combination'wvith. a closed compartment and racksmounted above thefurnace and the chimney for supporting articles to be disinfected; and shields 1 mounted "between the'furnace and ch'imneyaudthe racks-Yto protect the articles from burning, said shields having perforations formed therein signatures. a a r a MIGHA EL TROOTNEFIT JOH-N' GROMEEKO. 

